Inherently
by Mello-Drama-Reborn
Summary: A scenario that says what happens immediately after the events of Uprising; Palutena has not forgotten her first judgements about the fate of Dark Pit, even if his lighter half has.
1. Chapter 1

The two angels were gliding over a cheering city, a warm sunset warming both pairs of wings. Hades had just been defeated; Dark Pit smiled at the sight of Pit, taking in all the glory.

"All right, Pit," Palutena's voice, brimming with equal cheer, pierced into both their consciousnesses, "you've had a hard battle; time to head up no-"  
"Not yet." Dark Pit sternly interrupted her, the first time he'd spoken since the battle was won. With no one to address directly, he turned his glare skyward. "Set me down. Viridi, you'd better do the same with Pit." He heard a "tch" from Viridi, his flight turning into a decent. "And give us some time alone, will you? I don't like the idea of you omniscient types listening in on everything."

The two landed on a small cliff overlooking the town. Despite the gorgeous view, Pit knew things had gotten serious, and his mood had become more sombre. Dark Pit turned to him, his figure eclipsing the setting sun so that his silhouette was outlined in gold fire and his face was cast in shadow.  
"Listen. You don't need to go back with her."  
"What?" Pit was startled, but in too good a mood to be offended. Instead, he looked at Dark Pit curiously.  
"I am you. At least, I know the things you won't admit to yourself, so I know that you don't actually want to keep putting up with-"  
"Of course I do!" Pit cut in, Dark Pit thought too quickly. "I can't believe you're still going on about this! I have total faith in Lady Palutena!"  
"She'll throw you away one day!" Pit's insistance was suddenly mirrored in his counterpart. "She doesn't need you! Not like I do!" He saw Pit's face distort, but it didn't matter, he didn't _understand_, and the stakes were too high to stop. "One day, she'll find some servant even more powerful than you, and she'll throw you away! Maybe not now, maybe not for many years, but it'll happen, and when it does, you'll be disposable! You can't doubt it, can you? You've seen it, for years, how she's treated you-"  
"She saved my life!" Pit was angry now, but Dark Pit was desperate.  
"I saved you! Because I need you!" He stared at his lighter half, his eyes dark and intense. "Look, I- I learned something during those three years you were in the ring. I may have told you once, but I don't _exist_ without you. Unlike her, I won't let anything happen to you, I-" He could tell. He wasn't getting through to him. "Pit... You defeated a god today. Even Palutena couldn't have done that by herself-"  
"I didn't do it by myself! Lady Paluten-"  
"Just listen to me for a second, idiot!" Dark Pit was bristling, his wings dropping dark feathers on the stone they stood on. "Think about it. You're strong Pit. _We're _strong. Together, we could do anything- we could take on any god, and finally fix this broken system-"  
"We couldn't fly." Pit's interjection brought Dark Pit into a stunned silence. Pit stared at him with an even glare, his already short patience on the subject quickly waning.  
"We don't need to fly to be powerful."  
"I'm sorry, Pittoo." Pit walked to the edge of the cliff, lifting his arms in silent prayer. Immediately, a golden light lifted Pit into Skyworld, leaving the darker angel alone on the darkening cliff.

"Well? Where are you going?" Viridi's voice came to his ears almost immediately, irritating the one who had been hoping for some time to himself.  
"Don't bother. I'm on my own from now on." He jumped off the cliff, skidding against the rocks as he started his long journey to the city below.


	2. Chapter 2

The goddess of light looked concernedly up at Pit as he descended to the stone floor of her temple, a warm yellow light receding into the clouds. Her eyes held a hidden worry that made Pit the celebration of Hades defeat had ended far too soon.

"Looks like you and Dark Pit have really connected throughout all this." Pit only nodded, suddenly nervous, and Palutena sighed, her gaze distant. "Pit... do you remember what I said after your first fight with him?" Pit opened his mouth to speak, but Palutena didn't wait for an answer. "He is inherently wicked and destructive…. He needs to be destroyed." Pit jolted, overwhelmed at her statement.

"Destroyed!? But you know Pittoo! He's a good guy! We don't need to-" Pit was cut off by another sigh from Palutena.  
"I warned you, Pit…" Palutena's expression proved she emphasized, but she made no move to offer any alternatives.

He had to be destroyed. And there was only one person strong enough to do it.


	3. Chapter 3

Pit made excuses not to go.

"I _just_ beat Hades! Don't you think I deserve a little break?"  
But in the end it was unavoidable. Palutena knew how he felt, so she knew that he'd never decide to go if he was given the choice. It wasn't long before his boots touched Earth's soil in the first step of his reluctant journey.

Pit was surprised to drop down at the foot of a large camp. Ahead of him was many coordinated cloth tents, and as he made his way between them he hoped in vain that they would somehow all be evacuated. He saw a large man with an even larger sword, and guessed the camp to be home to a group of travelling mercenaries.  
"Uh, hello? I was wondering if you've seen someone who- who looks something like me only darker?" The man turned around and Pit gasped in surprise. "Whoa, Magnus?"

"Oh! Hey, angel-face. Looking for plum pit?"  
"Plum pit?" At his question, Magnus scratched the back of his head, looking refreshingly casual.  
"Oh, well, he came here calling himself 'Dark Pit' and that really wasn't working for me, so yeah, plum pit. Anyway, I'll take you to'im." Magnus started walking confidently through the mercenary camp with Pit trailing behind, excited and afraid at the same time.

"Hey! Plum pit! Someone here for you!"  
"How many times have I told you not to call me that?" Pit could hear Dark Pit's voice as he stumbled into a small, lavender tent that was filled with the scent of cooking. Peeking around Magnus's large form, he and Dark Pit found each other at the same time, the latter unable to hide his surprise.

"Hey! Something smells good in here!" At his predictable comment, Dark Pit scoffed, relaxing a bit.  
"I'm surprised someone with your appetite hasn't learned to cook yet."

From the outside of the tent, Magnus waved a large hand.  
"Well, I'll leave you two to it then." As he turned to leave, Pit felt a reluctance as he remembered why he had arrived. Dark Pit only nodded, his expression already becoming more solemn.

Ladling some of his food from a pot, it was Dark Pit who first broke the short silence.  
"So, thought about my offer? I've been expecting you, you know." Pit shifted uncomfortably, and Dark Pit could guess what he was going to say before he said it.  
"Actually, I…." he scratched his cheek, directing his gaze towards the ceiling so he wouldn't have to look at the angel that had become his friend. "I came on business." Pit stood up, his weapon appearing in his hands. He took a deep breath, his eyes closed, preparing himself. "I, Pit, servant of Goddess Palutena- oof!"

Dark Pit had delivered a swift kick to Pit's gut, sending him rolling backwards into the wall of the tent.

"You're not really going to give me that shtick, are you!?" He was already seething, picking his own silver bow off the floor. "No- don't even answer; I get it. You'd give your life for her, so what's your copy? I should've known that I couldn't beat her, no matter how she abuses you!" His tone was fierce, accusatory; and this time the words bit at Pit, because he had come to kill him.

No matter how tough his act was, Dark Pit was scared. If Palutena had convinced Pit that he had to go, it was likely he would; Dark Pit couldn't kill his original without killing himself, and Pit would chase him to the ends of the Earth if Palutena told him to. From this moment on, there was nowhere for him to go where he could escape the fear that his copy was coming for him.  
"Don't you see!? Palutena knew I would try to turn you against her! She knows how much of a threat we would be! Isn't this proof enough of the things we could do!?" He could see Pit's resolve solidifying in front of him, and he tried to control his mounting fear, to hide it under fake anger and strength. "She's scared that you'll see the truth! That you'll realize that you're fed up with her!"

"You're wrong!"

Pit swung his blade, and his counterpart found it difficult to dodge in his cramped quarters. Pit was blocking the exit, and Dark Pit ground his teeth. He blocked another vicious blow, metal ringing against metal with a sound that alerted the surrounding mercenaries.

Magnus showed up first, his face tense.  
"Damn it, angel-face, I thought I could trust you!" Grabbing the bright angel from behind, he heaved Pit effortlessly over his shoulder and hauled him out of the tent, getting him out of the camp before the others could cause a ruckus with shouts of hurried explanation.

He put Pit down some distance from the camp, his face concerned and confused but not hostile.  
"Look, I don't know what's going on between you two; some sort of god-thing or clone-thing, whatever. It's not my business, but you can't go pulling out weapons in there, got it?" Pit nodded, happy for the excuse to give up and go home, if only until he was forced to return.  
Magnus watched him until he was sure he ascended back to Skyworld, heaving a sigh as heavy as his sword before turning around and trudging back to camp, his mind churning out questions to ask his darker half.


	4. Chapter 4

Dark Pit could recall most of what Pit's memories from before he appeared from the mirror, and Magnus was the most recent of those memories. To Dark Pit, he looked like a sort of ideal; independent, strong, and unafraid of talking down even a goddess's messenger. What made him perfect was that he was human; he knew better than any god how corrupt all of their kind were. So when he left the day Pit had defeated Hades, Magnus was the first person he had thought of.

He hadn't been hard to find; Magnus was known widely as the most powerful human, and word of him spread fast. Apparently, Pit had left a good impression on the warrior, because Dark Pit found himself with a hearty recommendation into his mercenary group.

The group itself was lucky enough having Magnus's strength on hand, but Dark Pit was infinitely stronger than all them. Some felt bitter, others tried to take credit for it somehow, but overall Dark Pit was willing to work for his share and they gave him something to do, food to eat, and a place to stay.  
For it all, Dark Pit felt a sense superiority over all the gods. By living among them, he felt more entitled to speak for them than any god living above, too absorbed in their politics and power struggles to remember the people that gave them offerings and prayed to closed ears.

But for it all, Dark Pit had one weakness, and he told himself it would be nothing, but he should have known better. He and Pit were one and the same, and the one thing that angel wished more than anything was to fly.  
Sitting surrounded by that large, flat expanse of earth, Dark Pit felt like the sky was everywhere, enveloping the whole of his vision and taunting him. He'd stare up at that sky for a long time, imagining himself flying again, and would hardly notice Magnus's voice calling the nickname that, despite himself, had started to become familiar.

"Hey! Plum pit! Earth to angel-boy, do you read me?" Dark Pit looked at him and sighed, and Magnus gave him a knowing look.  
"I can't do this…." He slammed his fist against the earth in frustration. "I need to go back."  
"It was bound to happen. Your kind doesn't belong down here."  
Pit looked at him sternly. "Don't think I'm going to become like them! I-"  
"I know, I know! Don't think I haven't heard your little monologue a thousand times." Dark Pit nodded, suddenly unsure of what else to say. "Well, how are you gonna get up there?"  
"Same way he does it. Pray." Magnus let out a strong, one-syllable laugh.  
"You? Pray? And I guess that sky up there is gonna fall down there and meet us?"  
"That'd certainly make things easier." He allowed himself to toss back a smile of farewell. "Hey; tell the others I said goodbye, okay?" Magnus just gave a grunt and nodded, watching the second angel he dared call a friend rise into the clouds.


	5. Chapter 5

"Well, you're the last person I expected to call on me." Palutena feigned humor, her tapping foot giving away her nervousness.  
"It's almost odd, the quick service, considering all the others suffering on your watch." Dark Pit's expression was level and critical, but his eyes were incessantly scanning the room for his other half.  
"Well, I couldn't wait on such an important call." Her fake laughter was revolting, and his response was automatic.  
"Isn't everyone else important? Or do you just see them as your pawns?" He glanced behind him, growing impatient. "You don't need to answer that; I already know. More importantly, where's Pit?"  
"Well, he isn't always by my side. Maybe he's bathing? He does enjoy those hot springs, you know."  
"Don't toy with me, you know exactly where he is. I came here to talk with him, not you." Palutena flinched, but Dark Pit didn't care if he was discomforting her. Palutena let out a relenting sigh.  
"If you insist…"  
"I do."

At her call, Pit finally showed himself. He looked up at Palutena, and Dark Pit knew he wasn't feeling confident; if anything, this would be a perfect time to challenge his faith in her, to make him admit what he knew was true. But that's not what he had come for.  
Dark Pit turned to Pit, his expression determined. "I hope you realize how hard this is for me to do." His tone was mocking, but there was nothing disrespectful in his actions.

He took a deep breath, and for a moment he was a mirror again, of that moment when Pit had prepared to attack him back in the tent. But Dark Pit did not attack. Slowly, he lowered himself on knee, and bowed his head.  
Pit took a step backwards in surprise. "Wha-?"  
"I'm not swearing allegiance to Palutena. Not to any god. But it's like I said before," Dark Pit looked up, and there was a new fire in his eyes. "I'd do anything to keep you safe, and I can't very well do that if I'm down there... From now on, I'll take orders from you, and you alone." He stood up, casting a glance at Palutena. "If those orders came to you from Palutena first, then I guess it doesn't matter. What matters is that you actually believe them." The look he gave was a challenge, a challenge to both of them.

He knew those wicked gods' minds. With his power indirectly hers, Palutena wouldn't be so quick to get rid of him. In the meantime, he'd get Pit to realize what he pretended wasn't true.

And when he gave the orders to defy her, they'd do it together.


End file.
